


Love like you

by Daslebensmittel



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: A twist on Princess and the Frog, Animal Transformation, Erik Has Feelings, Fluff, Hurt Charles, I tried anyways, M/M, Mutual Pining, Post-X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2019-02-11 16:12:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12938925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daslebensmittel/pseuds/Daslebensmittel
Summary: Things become complicated when Erik becomes a dog: the students hound him and Hank becomes a mortal enemy. Then it gets easier. Then extremely frustrating when he finds out about Charles's feelings.





	Love like you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thacmis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thacmis/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [thacmis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thacmis/pseuds/thacmis) in the [secret_mutant_madness_2017](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/secret_mutant_madness_2017) collection. 



> **Prompt:**  
>  Canon AU where Erik gets turned into a puppy which a young Storm finds and brings home to the Xavier Mansion. Storm begs to keep the puppo and Charles agrees, but Charles ends up being the one taking care of him. 
> 
> Charles also ends up talking to Erik for hours on end (because he's so LONELY) and spills just how much he loves/misses/aches for Erik every day. Charles actually cries actual tears about it too, when he's had some alcohol. 
> 
> Then one day he kisses what he thinks is just a dog, and the dog turns (back) into Erik, Charles is shocked and SUPER embarrassed about everything he's revealed but Erik tells him he's so happy he wasn't alone in his feelings, and the end. :'3
> 
>  
> 
> Title from the ending theme to Steven Universe, [Love like you](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F8HvKqnp5s).

“We meet again, Doctor Strange,” Magneto said, walking out from a cloud of smoke. After bouts of throwing attacks upon each other from afar, they were finally meeting eye-to-eye.

“Have we met before? Surely, I would remember a hideously magenta outfit such as yours.”

Magneto snarled. However, to his point, they had encountered each other when he had been in his civilian clothes. Magneto snarled harder.

“Well, Madneto, was it?”

“It’s Magneto, you im-“

“Anyway, it was nice to chat with you, but I’m frankly bored by your death threats via metal things hurtled at me. So I think it’s time we said good-bye.”

“Chat? We are in the middle of a battle-“

“Bye-bye.”

A golden ring captured Magneto before he could finish and with a poof, he was sent away from the presence of Doctor Stephen Strange.

 

 

When he finally opened his eyes, it was pouring rain and he was lying on a pile of newspaper someone had charitably collected for him. It also seemed that he was in a box of some sort, covered with a cheap plastic umbrella.

‘ _What_   _the_ …’

Erik regained his senses and noticed instantly that something was amiss. He looked at his hands, no,  _paws_. He had a tail, fur covering him everywhere! What in the world had happened??

 

He was a dog. Not just any dog, but a  _tiny dog_. Erik peeked out of his box and stared into a puddle collected in front of him. By the colors and the pointy ears, he guessed he was a Yorkshire terrier.

‘ _Verdammt_ …!’ he tried to yell. He could hear it himself that it came out as a tiny yelp.

“Oh look! A puppy!!”

“Storm! Wait! Ach, you are making the rain more intense!”

A young woman with snow white hair and dark bronze skin ran over to the box with great excitement, with a younger man, completely blue and with a tail, following her trails. Erik recognized them as Storm and Kurt from when they fought off the Apocalypse. Weren’t they living at the mansion?

_‘Oh no. That idiot sent me to New York??’_

“Aw, he’s whining… Look, it says ‘Please give me a home.’ Let’s take him to the mansion,” Storm suggested. She picked him up and dropped him on her lap. Erik tried to escape her, but her grip was arresting.

Damn him and his miniature form! What was to happen? Was he going to encounter Charles? How embarrassing!

“I don’t know, Storm… And that is as much a puppy as my skin isn’t blue… The professor will not be happy about this,” Kurt hesitated.

“We’ll take care of him. He’s a little dog, no worries.”

“But…”

Just as Kurt was about to continue, a lightning strike hit a nearby tree, startling Erik and Kurt.

“I said no worries,” she enunciated each syllable, holding out her free hand. Kurt whimpered. He then grabbed her hand and teleported.

 

“No. Absolutely not.”

“But Professor! He was in the rain-“

“You could have stopped it.”

“He’s so tiny and cute!”

“I’m sure other people would have picked him up.”

“Please-“

Before Charles could wheel away into his office, Storm dropped the sopping wet dog onto his suit-clad lap. 

“ORORO!”

“ _Please_  Professor! We’ll take good care of it! I know you’ve told us multiple times the gravity of life… We could save this one, make it better. He needs a home, Professor. We could give it to him, love him,” she finished, tears welling up.

Charles sighed. It wasn’t that he didn’t like dogs or animals in general; he loved them. He just didn’t want the students to be irresponsible and take on something they couldn’t handle. However, most of the students at the institute had had childhoods that could be only described as troubling, at best. Having a cute little dog around couldn’t hurt. Perhaps it’d teach them some lessons on responsibility and accountability. 

“All right. We’ll keep him. But I want you all to take good care of him. Feed him, wash him, give him exercise - all of that will be on you. Understand?” Charles demanded with a stern look. He gave the still-wet dog a little pat for emphasis. Erik observed silently, still in shock. Nevertheless, he didn’t really like where this was going.

“Oh yes! We promise, Professor! Tell him you promise, Kurt.”

“We promise!” yelped Kurt. He didn’t look as emphatic or certain as Storm, but he couldn’t hide the tiny tremor of excitement at the prospect. Charles smiled and gave the dripping dog back to them for a first bath.

 

When he wasn’t sagged down by rainwater, the dog was really quite adorable, thought Charles. Though a couple of the students (who had heard of the news of a dog among them) tried to carry him to Hank’s lab, Erik flat out refused, jumping off every time someone lifted him up. In the end, he settled again on Charles’s now dried lap, sitting proudly like he belonged there.

“Hmm. I’m pretty sure he’s a Yorkshire terrier. I mean I could do a test to see his whole genetic make up… Yeah, I think I’ll do that later. It’d be interesting to see his ancestry. He looks to be about 5 or 6. He’s pretty healthy, actually. You guys found him on the street? He’s not underweight or anything. He must have been abandoned recently,” Hank concluded. On the examination table, Erik was livid. He had shaken his whole tiny body and growled the whole time, but Hank had plowed through with his check-up.

“However, he isn’t neutered, so…”

 _‘NO WAY IN HELL!’_  Erik yelped. He also tried to bite Hank’s unsuspecting hand.

“Oh dear. He seems to understand what is going on, doesn’t he?” laughed Charles. He petted Erik with little hope to calm him, but the dog stopped shivering as soon as Charles touched him.

“The dog really likes you, Professor,” Kurt commented.

“Well, he is going to like all of us from now on,” Charles answered, smiling.

 _‘I doubt it. I’m not great with kids, Charles,’_  Erik tried to convey with his whines.

“So, should we do the procedure?” Hank continued. He made a scissoring motion with his hand.

 _‘NO! I'll kill you!’_  barked Erik. He then leaped off the table into Charles’s arms. He held tight onto Charles’s neck with his tiny paws. He had to admit, however, even in this ridiculous situation, it was nice to be against Charles’s chest.

“Ouch! Your claws may be blunt, but they’re digging into my neck, little dog,” Charles said. He gently detached the dog and held him in his arms. “Given our current situation, I think we’ll have to postpone the procedure for another time.”

“Alright, Professor. But don’t get angry if he starts humping your leg or pees everywhere,” Hank warned.

 _‘How dare you!’_  Erik yipped.

“Goodness, you’re just very unhappy here, aren’t you?” Charles said, petting the dog. “We’ll just have to train him. But of course we’ll proceed sooner than later if it becomes a big problem. It’s better for the dog’s health anyway. Thank you for the check-up, Hank.”

With a final growl from Erik, Charles and the children left the lab to go shopping for dog accoutrement.

 

 

After a great debacle, almost ending in another sort of apocalypse at the school, they decided to name the dog  _Erik_. Charles was not at all amused and Erik himself was extremely confused as to if and how they knew it was him, or otherwise, why they’d give a tiny dog his name (he figured it was to mock him - the kids all called him Dog-Erik, which was definitely even worse).

By the time Erik had started to accept the fact that he was a dog now, he had gotten tired of fetching the ball. At first, he tried to humor them; even then, it was a sad attempt. They children yelled “Come on, boy! Bring the ball!” all day, but he just lazily walked and picked up the ball for one second, before dropping it so it would roll somewhere away from them all. 

However, Charles took to taking Erik out for a walks once a day in the morning (none of the children wanted to sacrifice their sleep, even for a dog), which was Erik’s favorite part of the day. Each morning, Charles would come into the kitchen, pet him for a while and take him out to the grounds. Erik couldn’t run too fast with his short legs anyway, but he thought walking at a leisurely pace next to Charles’s wheelchair was really rather nice.

Charles also enjoyed their daily morning walks. He was used to going out to the grounds every once in a while for some fresh air, but making it the very first part of his day gave him a different sense of routine and a peace of mind to begin his morning. The dog wasn’t meant for him, but Charles was grateful for the positive change Dog-Erik had brought to him personally.

 

Despite their enthusiasm, however, the students did not last long with their undertaking. All of the students took turns with taking care of Erik for about a month, which Charles approved and Erik heartily disapproved. But then, the steam ran out and the strict rotation of duties quickly derailed, everyone preferring to petting or playing with the dog, but none of the chores. It also didn’t help that Erik himself kept running away from the children, usually into Charles’s room.

“Storm, I do not see any of you walking or bathing Dog-Erik anymore. Thank goodness Hank is here to feed him. What happened to our promise?” Charles chided, with Erik on his lap. The dog looked perfectly content to be away from the gaggle of children.  
  
“Oh, we want to take care of him, Professor, but he keeps running away from us,” Storm shrugged.

“That means you did not properly earn his trust,” Charles said, shaking his head. “You can’t simply give up after a month? Earning an animal’s trust takes time and patience.”

“We all tried! But he won’t ever sit in our lap like he does for you!”

Charles looked down at the little dog in his lap, well-groomed and happy, who looked back with intelligent eyes. He had to acquiesce that she did have a point. He didn’t know exactly why, but Dog-Erik had always sought refuge in his room and had allowed only Charles to give him treats and pet him. He wondered if the great number of children interested in him was overwhelming for Dog-Erik. Perhaps it was easier for him to focus on one person.

However, from Erik’s point of view, they all should have been thankful he hadn’t bitten anyone. Yet.

“All right. I understand. I’ll take care of him, but you’ll help me once in a while.”  
  
“Yes, Professor,” she smiled. She paused before asking, “Dog-Erik, can I give you a pet?”

 _‘No,’_  Erik growled.

“Come now, Dog-Erik. Be a good boy and let Storm pet you,” Charles cooed.

 _‘Fine. One pet,’_  Erik let out a consenting sigh. He didn’t hate her. He just didn’t need attention from any non-Charles personage. Storm approached Erik on Charles’s lap and gave him a short scratch behind the ears. She stopped when he began to growl again.

“I wonder what he’s thinking. Can you read his mind, Professor?”

“Unfortunately, my telepathy does not work on animals, Ororo. You would have known that if you had paid attention during my class.”

Storm shrugged at Charles’s scornful eyes and skipped off to join her friends.

 

With the end of all the teenagers trying to pet or play with him, Erik’s life had greatly improved. At least, as good as it could get while he was a goddamned dog, anyway. His bed was moved from the kitchen to Charles’s room (where he had already preferred to hide out under Charles’s bed) and most of his time was spent with Charles, on his lap or on the couch in his office. Unfortunately, Erik also became even more hostile to everyone else after this, even Hank suffering tiny bites on his finger on occasion. Erik apparently had never heard the saying  _Don’t bite the hand that feeds you_.

“Erik, no! Perhaps it was a mistake to name you Erik. You seem to be taking on his personality,” Charles lamented after Hank fled the room. Though a leonine mutant, Hank apparently did not possess a lion heart.

 _‘What’s wrong with my personality?’_ whined Erik.

“You should be kind and gentle. Not everyone is here to hurt you, darling. If only he could understand that too,” Charles commented sadly.

 _‘I do understand. I know you won’t hurt me. Call me darling again,’_  whimpered Erik, rubbing his head against Charles’s hand.

“Yes, darling. I do love you. And… Never mind. Don’t worry, Dog-Erik. You have a home here with me, no matter what. Do try to be nicer, though, won’t you?” Charles implored, caressing the dog.

 _‘I wish you wouldn’t call me Dog-Erik. But… I suppose I could try being more civil,’_ yawned Erik, flopping down on Charles’s lap. Charles smiled at Dog-Erik, who closed his eyes and relaxed further on Charles’s warm lap. Giving up on wheedling the dog into good behavior, Charles wheeled himself back to his desk to carry on with his administrative duties for the school.

 

Charles was surprised at himself that he had truly meant it when he told Dog-Erik that he loved him. As unfriendly as the dog was to the students, he had been extraordinarily sweet and loving to Charles, even in the short time since the dog’s arrival. He felt like the dog communicated to him through his expressive eyes and loving gestures, like licking his fingers or rubbing himself on Charles. He even began to allow Erik to sleep on his own bed, though it was after much whining on the dog’s part. And given that the dog couldn’t talk, unable to divulge his secrets or point out his fallacies, Charles began to confide in Dog-Erik with his private thoughts.

As for Erik, he surprisingly found himself enjoying his time as a dog. He felt liberated in a way: he could be as loving and gentle with Charles as he wanted, without guarding his feelings. It was uncanny how naturally it came to him to show affection to Charles – perhaps it was a new canine instinct. If he had been human, there was no way he’d have felt entitled to show Charles any sort of affection. They would have carried on discussing (and arguing) their vastly dissimilar worldviews and maybe play chess on occasion. To be doted on and be able to reciprocate, it was new and heartwarming. Erik rather liked it.

  

Charles talked to him for hours each night in their bed (Erik tried not to think about what else could happen in a bed), and there were many times when Erik wanted to respond, but most times, he simply listened to the pleasant lilt of Charles’s voice.

“Erik, darling, how nice it must be for you to be a dog… I sometimes wish my life was as simple as yours,” Charles whispered to Erik, while cuddling in bed.

 _‘You’d be surprised at how complicated my life is at the moment, dear Charles,’_  Erik huffed.

“As much as they are troublesome, I must admit that I am grateful for the students. They are an excellent source of distraction. From the outside world, from your namesake…”

 _‘What have I done? You never say what I’ve done to wrong you,’_  Erik sniffed in question, but Charles was already asleep with a drop of tear resting on his lashes like dew on grass. Erik wanted to lick it away, but settled for snuggling closer to Charles and watched him sleep.

 

Erik listened as Charles complained, too, sometimes about the students or various conflicts in the world, but mostly about Erik himself. It was baffling. Charles seemed bitter, though Erik had been under the impression that they had parted on amicable terms. Charles had his school and Erik didn’t want to be a part of it. He had thought that Charles understood; Erik had suffered and given his tendencies and experiences, he was unfit to teach. And as a sign of no hard feelings, Erik had helped rebuilding the mansion, hadn’t he? Apparently, Charles had been much more displeased by it than he had let on. Erik tried to whine or growl, to express in some way of his disagreement to Charles’s sentiments, but all Charles heard were incomprehensible dog noises, mistaking them for Erik trying to console him.

Still, Erik felt like he was deprived of some significant information. All of Charles’s complaints went in circles – ranging from being sympathetic to Erik to the feeling of betrayal, and then going back again. However, when Charles indulged on a few fingers of scotch too many, Erik got his answer.

“Errrik,” slurred Charles, “do you perchance have a connection to Person-Erik?”

Erik simply cocked his head to one side, puzzled.

“Goodness you are adorable,” Charles said, petting his head. “I ask because I cannot find him at all. Sometimes, on a cold night like this, I try to reach out to him. To make sure he’s safe. Of course, I rarely find him… But sometimes, on rare occasions, I sense him and he is alive and I can sleep. Erik…”

Erik quietly padded closer toward Charles. Charles had been deposited into bed by Hank an hour ago and had just woken up. Erik had jumped on the bed as soon as Hank left and lied close, listening to Charles sleep.

“Erik, I love him. I love him,” sobbed Charles. “Yes, you, but also Person-Erik. Erik who is beautiful despite his flaws, or perhaps because of them. I wish he were here. I wish he never left me. He’s left me so many times. I should be tired of him by now, yet I am not. I yearn for him. What do I do? What can I do?”

Erik froze in front of Charles. Charles was sobbing in front of him in his drunken sadness, confessing his love for him. It all made sense why Charles was so upset about Erik not staying. All those times when Erik had left Charles, he had seen it as a rejection of their connection, their compatibility, and their love. The thing was, however, that Erik hadn’t been ignorant of such feelings. Charles’s emotions had been mirrored in Erik this whole time, albeit with neither of them privy to the other’s feelings. Erik suddenly felt trapped: here he was, with possibly the love of his life, who was confessing to him in tears, and there was nothing Erik could do about it. All he wanted to do was kiss Charles, put his arms around him, and assure him that he loved him back. Tell him that there was nothing in the world that Erik wouldn’t sacrifice to make Charles happy.

 _‘Charles, Charles. Listen, I want to tell you I love you too, but I’m a goddamned dog! Charles, Liebling,’_ whined Erik. He cursed Doctor Strange with everything he had. If only his mutation had been sorcery. No, scratch that, he’d be ecstatic to have his mutation back. And his human form, too, for that matter.

“Oh, thank you, Dog-Erik. You are so sweet. I’m all right, don’t worry. I’m not hurt. Just… A little bit emotional,” Charles soothed. He then tucked himself in better and gave Erik one final scratch before he began snoring. Erik stared at Charles for a long time, thinking about all that had happened before he himself fell asleep.

 

Erik woke up with the sun in his eyes. It was hard to feel with all the fur on his still-dog face, but he detected some wet streaks under his eyes. He never considered himself to be sentimental, but he guessed even he couldn’t be unmoved from last night’s revelations.

Charles stirred next to him. He moaned like he had a painful headache and stretched slightly before rolling over to face Erik. Seeing the dog, Charles broke into a grin and immediately reached for the dog’s ears for a scratch.

“Good morning, Erik. Did you sleep well?”

_‘Not really, no.’_

“Oh dear, you’ve got brown streaks under you eyes. We’ll have to clean you face a bit today…” Charles tried to rub the brown fur, to no avail. He then looked into Erik’s round eyes. “Erik, I know you can’t talk or really understand me… But I want you to know how thankful I am for you. I probably babbled a considerable amount of nonsense to you yesterday, but I feel much lighter in my heart. Perhaps you should be a therapy dog!” giggled Charles. “Thank you, darling.”

Overcome with gratitude and emotions from the prior night, Charles grabbed the dog, who only slightly resisted, and hugged him close. Erik stilled in Charles’s arms, breathing him in, repeating in his mind how much he loves Charles. He knew Charles wouldn’t receive his projections, but he had to try. None the wiser of Erik’s declarations, Charles gave Erik a tiny peck under his nose, before freeing the dog and burrowing further into the blankets. He would probably never do that sober, but he was still hung over and the dog was so cute. Charles smiled into his pillow, closing his eyes again.

Charles may have been hoping for another five minutes of sleep, but his dreams were dashed when there was a ring of golden light, bright enough to penetrate the lids as soon as he closed his eyes. When he opened them in surprise, Person-Erik was lying next to him, completely naked.

“ERIK!” he squawked, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING??”

“Charles! I can explain,” Erik pled.

“You bet your  _ass_ you’re going to explain!”

Charles, suddenly feeling like he had been dropped in cold water, sat up and stared at now-human Erik. Erik seemed befuddled himself, looking at his limbs and touching his face as if for the first time. Charles was  _not_  appreciating the view, he  _wasn’t_. He didn’t give Erik anything with which to cover his modesty, however.

“Listen Charles, don’t look at me like this was my plan to infiltrate your school and spy on you. It wasn’t! You can check,” Erik offered, gesturing to his head. Charles scoffed, seemingly offended, and continued to glower at Erik. “Okay, fine. Don’t check. I was in the middle of fighting this weird magician called Doctor Strange, but then he turned me into a dog and sent me here. That clichéd bastard, I guess I had to get a kiss to turn back… He also didn’t have the courtesy to send me along with my clothes…”

Erik finished grumbling, grabbing at the sheets to cover himself up a little. Charles sighed. He knew Erik wasn’t lying. There really was no reason for Erik to be here other than because he was forced to do so by someone else. And wasn’t that just peachy? What he was really upset about was the fact Charles had spilled his guts to Dog-Erik and now had to face the music. 

“Did you… Did you understand everything I was saying to you?” Charles asked tentatively.

“Yes,” Erik answered with his signature grin. He was probably much more pleased than he should be.

“Damn it!”

“Why, Charles? Are you embarrassed?” Erik asked teasingly.

“Shut up, shut up! I’m still hung-over. Talk to me tomorrow,” Charles declared, attempting to hide himself once more under the covers. Erik stopped him before he disappeared.

“Charles, there is no need to be bashful. I am glad you feel that way. Because… I do too.”

“You do?”

Charles looked so doubtful and hopeful at the same time. Erik’s heart broke a little, because he had done this. He had made Charles distrust him all this time. He wondered regretfully if there could ever be a time when Charles didn’t have to doubt Erik’s sincerity. He moved his now fur-less hand to ghost his fingers on Charles’s cheek. Charles closed his eyes for a long time, as if afraid that all this was but a dream. Erik smiled for him when he finally opened his eyes, as blue as he had remembered.

“Charles, I know I don’t deserve your affections… But in my defense, I didn’t know how you felt. You have always been my one true friend and greatest challenge. We have very different thoughts on… Nearly everything. But I respect and love you for that. If there was a way I could turn back time and stay by your side, I would. Is there any way… You’d allow me to be with you?”

Charles remained silent. He alternated between contemplating on his fingers to boring into Erik’s eyes. Erik was just about to give up when Charles flung his arms around him in a hug. Startled, but thrilled, Erik wrapped his arms around Charles tightly, relishing in the feeling of having Charles finally in his arms. Charles faced Erik again and kissed him.

“I hate you. So much. But I am not complete, without you. I’m just afraid, Erik. Are you going to leave me again?”

“No,” Erik blurted out. Charles eyed him skeptically. “I mean, yes, but I’ll come back. I’ll come back to you.”

Presumably satisfied, Charles kissed Erik again. He knew that Erik had his own agenda to accomplish, but if Erik would remain connected to Charles, then he had hope. Perhaps he could persuade Erik to give up at least some of his itinerary. Otherwise, he would be satisfied to have Erik by his side from time to time, no more of the blind resentment for a man who did not reciprocate his feelings. In a strange way, Charles was thankful for this turn of events, no matter how absurd. From the pleasant hum of Erik’s mind, he obviously felt the same way.

“Erik, don’t you want to get dressed?” Charles asked, stopping the kiss. Erik grunted in protest. Instead of an answer, Erik pushed Charles down onto his pillow, mouthing at his neck and snaking his hand under Charles’s shirt. With a resigned (but pleased) sigh, Charles petted Erik’s hair as Erik stroked his flank. Erik might not be a dog anymore, but he apparently still preferred to communicate in action than words.

They kissed and explored each other passionately. They forgot everything else that had happened, if only for the moment, and Erik was just about to remove Charles’s nightshirt from his head when Charles abruptly remembered something.

“Oh dear. The children are going to be terribly disappointed now that there is no dog.”

“They’ll get over it.”

Erik returned to nibbling on Charles, causing Charles to gasp and forget about everything else.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Once my identity is revealed, and perhaps after you look at what other nonsense I've written, it'll explain why I had to choose this prompt! XD I had a lot of fun, so thank you to thacmis! :D I hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> I chose the title, because I thought the song is a perfect descriptions of how pet owners feel toward their animals. I definitely feel this way with my dog (yes, he's some sort of a Yorkie). And perhaps it's fitting of Erik's feelings to Charles, at least in this story. I definitely perused through a lot of dog-puns and saying before settling on this one. It was almost titled, "Nothing is im-paw-sible"... DX 
> 
> [Tumblr!](https://daslebensmittel.tumblr.com)


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